By Madeline Buschang
President Donald Trump, in an interview released Monday with Axios National Political Correspondent, Jonathan Swan, doubled down on his well-wishes to Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell, the former girlfriend and alleged co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested and charged with multiple counts related to her involvement in child sex trafficking and perjury on July 2. She is alleged to have aided Epstein in the luring and grooming of young girls for sexual abuse and participating in the abuse herself.
She has denied these allegations and up to this point denied any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged criminal activity. And by doing so under oath in a 2016 deposition, she opened herself up to charges of perjury.
Epstein is known to have had ties to many powerful men including President Donald Trump.
When asked at a July 21st press briefing for a response to Maxwell’s potential to turn in “powerful men” after her arrest, President Trump stated, “I just wish her well, frankly. I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is.”
President Trump’s reply in Monday’s Axios interview came after criticism of this initial response. When asked why he would wish someone accused of sex trafficking well, Trump responded, “Her friend or boyfriend was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She’s now in jail. Yeah, I wish her well. I’d wish you well. I’d wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty. I mean, do you know that she’s guilty?”
When asked to clarify his well-wishes, he stated, “I do wish her well. I’m not looking for anything bad for her. I’m not looking bad for anybody. And they took that, and they made it such—such a big deal. But all it is, is her boyfriend died—he died in jail. Was he killed? Was it suicide? I do. I wish her well.”
Acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss, has stated, “Maxwell was among Epstein’s closest associates and helped him exploit girls who were as young as 14 years old.”
One such girl who has made allegations against Maxwell and Epstein is Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre has stated she was 16 years old when she got a summer job as a locker room attendant at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., owned at the time by Donald Trump, and it was there that she first met Ghislaine Maxwell and was subsequently introduced to Jeffrey Epstein.
Giuffre, now 36, alleges Maxwell recruited her to provide a massage to Epstein, which quickly turned into sexual abuse—a pattern that continued for years.
Giuffre also alleges that she was later trafficked to a number of powerful men while still a minor.
Though many documents have been recently unsealed resulting in much public revelation, not all have been revealed in this case. Some documents, including the transcripts of Maxwell’s 2016 deposition, remain sealed.
“[Ghislaine] Maxwell, the former girlfriend and alleged co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested and charged with multiple counts related to her involvement in child sex trafficking and perjury on July 2.”
“When asked at a July 21 press briefing for a response to Maxwell’s potential to turn in ‘powerful men’ after her arrest, President Trump stated, ‘I just wish her well, frankly.’”
“When asked why he would wish someone accused of sex trafficking well, Trump responded, ‘Her friend or boyfriend was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She’s now in jail. Yeah, I wish her well. I’d wish you well. I’d wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty. I mean, do you know that she’s guilty?’”
Joint Narrative 